Angeluna knits into the wee hours of the morning and ponders life....and her stash! So much stash, so little time.

Friday, May 7, 2010

Not Holding a Wake for the Blog, Not Just Yet!

Blogger is making changes and I'm not sure just what to do about it. So the above mentioned wake may be a forced one. Plus, on three different browsers, I'm having a heck of a time posting, going from one computer to the next. Move photos a bit with one, then go to another to add text, but can't move photos. Etcetera ad infinitum. Already, it was getting more and more difficult to find the time to catch things up. Now to worry whether it is all going to disappear. We'll give it another chance.

Mustaavilla just said one day that she couldn't think of one more thing to say about hand-knitted socks, so her blog said bye-bye. Everyone seems to be talking away on Facebook and Twitter, but I must say I can't seem to find the time in my day to find out what my friends (love 'em) ate for lunch.

As to the blog issues, Blogger still doesn't want me to move my photos around, so this may be another strangely disconnected posting. But here goes, lots to catch up on.

Valentines? Yup, it's been a while. Strange to say, but I've never even met the man who sent the champagne and chocolates.

Then, there was the Valentine's snowfall. It was utterly beautiful while it fell, a strange otherworldly light. I could have read a book outside at 3AM with a totally overcast sky and snow falling. About 15" here, unheard of. The branches moaned a groaned and creaked...and broke.

Most of the snow had melted off by the time I took these photos.

FINISHED OBJECTS:

Stulpen Fingerless Mitts in Wollmeise. Can I tell you how I love these? Let me count the ways.

And I managed to string up an old Indian pendant I'd had lying around for twenty plus years.

Fetching in Socks That Rock, Dutch Canyon. These went to Jana to keep her hands from freezing (they are always cold). I would not do this pattern again. Although it is modified and is better, those thumbs are just hideous.

And here we have a finished Clapotis. I had plenty of yarn (Elsbeth Lavold's Silky Wool), so I just kept knitting. And knitting. And knitting. For years. And ended up with a ginormous comfy cozy wrap that should do three seasons. Love it.

SOCK MADNESS:

Sock One, a sideways number by MountainMom. A fast knit, very effective.

Knew these weren't going to fit, so used her favorite colors and shipped them off to Jana. Who loves them dearly.

Sock Two, Cool Beans. This was my first cast on. The yarn just wasn't working at all. So I frogged and started over.

Being a novice at colorwork in the round, these took a while. But I came up with multiple methods for handling the two colors. Learned about dominant color. And really downright enjoyed them.

Knew they were going to be too small for me, but thought I would give this pair to Kay. Well, they wouldn't even fit Kay. Jana got these, too.

Sock Three: GAMs designed by our very own Taya. Made sure these would fit me by adding 7 stitches. Used Noro Kureyon Sock, which I loved working with. Now let's see how a single holds up. I knitted the soles so tight, I had almost negative row gauge.

With round 4, I dropped out. A knee sock that went on, and on, and on. Just the idea of me in knee socks reduces me to giggles. So...I wandered over to Sock Knitters Anonymous and cast on for the CookieA Mystery Sock.

And here we have Clue 1. Clue 2 comes out tonight. So these should look very different in a few days. Wollmeise Twin in Amethyst.

I felt so badly about Kay not getting any Sock Madness booty, that I cast on a pair in Opal Hundertwasser just for her.

And for me, pulled out a skein of Dibadu Wild Funnies and started a very simple ribbed sock, which may turn out to be my favorite of all to wear. Thin and fits perfectly.

Just for the sheer beauty of it, here is a shipment of Wollmeise from my friend Doris in Germany. The joy of opening such a package is hard to describe to a non-knitter.

And here are my helpers. Pandora, who manages to sit on two copies of the same pattern at the same time, preventing knitting.

Big old Galatoire, who does disturb the printing process, even if it doesn't disturb him.

And Bad Boy, who was supposedly helping me file...until he pushed over the stack of folders to the floor, then knocked off the stack of CDs waiting to be mailed as he leapt down and pretended he had nothing to do with any of it.

Whenever I hear a crash in the house, I know exactly who did it.

Now to press the button and see if all this publishes. Hold your breath.

I feel you on the blog. I haven't posted in a while because I need to look into moving it from its current server to something else (= not $40 a month), plus I have no clue how to administer the server it's on because Mr. MmmYarn took care of that. I am considering abandoning and keeping my comments in Ravelry.

I'm glad you posted. You have turned out some beautiful items. I really like the color you used on the Stulpen. The Cool Beans socks look like they were a challenge; I have yet to properly work any type of stranded knitting in the round. I can't seem to make it loose enough even when I work inside out.

I am looking forward to seeing what you're going to do with that giant pile of new Wollmeise!

Lovely to see Pandora and Galatoire again. Certainly Pandora knows exactly what she's doing when she covers the pattern - and who's to say she's not right? After all, when there is a major cat in the room, nobody has any right to be knitting.

Gosh Bad Boy looks like so much fun (says she from a safe distance). If he wants to take the trip to Ireland (can you trust him not to ditch the plane?) the girls will make him most welcome.